


Circumstantial Friends

by morritzz



Category: Archie Comics
Genre: F/M, Friendship, Hurt/Comfort, slight romance
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-01-03
Updated: 2017-01-20
Packaged: 2018-09-14 11:26:24
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,734
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9179527
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/morritzz/pseuds/morritzz
Summary: Archie finally decides to go steady with Betty, but their exclusivity only seems to be bringing them problems. Since her friendship with Veronica is permanently damaged, Betty begins to spend most of her time with Jughead. She looks to him for comfort and advice, and he usually delivers (often times with food).





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I'm not too sure how this sits in any of the already existing canons, so lets just say it exists on its own entirely. Despite this, I hope everyone still seems in-character!

It was a late summer night and Betty found herself on Archie’s front doorstep yet again. Recently the two of them had been having more arguments than usual, most ending with Betty either being kicked out or walking out. Tonight, Archie had asked her to leave after a particularly heated fight. He and Betty were supposed to be going steady, but she knew that he continued to go on dates with Veronica. Betty walked in on them making out the night before, which was the leading cause of tonight’s spat. It was no surprise that Archie didn’t think he was in the wrong, and no matter what Betty said he wouldn’t think otherwise. She huffed as she stormed her way down the steps and towards the sidewalk. She began pacing down the street with no destination in mind. With each step she felt herself grow more and more upset. It hurt her to know Archie felt less for her than she did for him. When he finally decided to be with her rather than Veronica, she was ecstatic. She was ready to stop constantly competing with Veronica, and she was more than happy to call Archie her boyfriend. At the beginning of their relationship, Betty was rather naïve. She knew Veronica would be upset, but genuinely thought after a month or so, they would all be back to normal. The three of them could still be friends. Now, a year later, Veronica wouldn’t talk to Betty, Archie was rarely loyal, and Betty felt more alone than ever. Shortly after he started dating Betty, Archie seemed to lose complete interest in her. Without Veronica and Archie, she started hanging out with Jughead even more. They were already close, but quickly grew even closer as Archie continued to stand her up and see other girls. Most of their time together was spent ranting, cooking, and eating. They both enjoyed the advice and recipes they’d share, and the strong friendship that grew between the two of them was just an added bonus. Betty would give anything to see Jughead right then.

She soon found herself in the small town park and made her way to the rusting swing set. She sat down and gently rocked in the seat. If Jughead were there with her, he’d probably give her his favorite advice, break up with Archie. Deep down she knew it would have to happen eventually, and the sooner the better, but she just couldn’t bring herself to go through with it. Part of her hoped Archie would end it just so she wouldn’t have to do it. She looked up as a car drove by, it’s bright headlights cutting through the dark night. Betty’s thoughts returned to Jughead again. If it weren’t so late, she’d probably walk to his house. He was the reason she talked to Archie about Veronica, and Betty was sure he’d want to know how it worked out. She pulled her phone from her pocket and checked the time. 11:14pm. She sighed as she unlocked her phone and opened up her messages. She stared at the screen, trying to decide if she should text Archie an apology or if she should let Jughead know how her night went. It might’ve been too late to visit him, but it was never too late for a text.

_Things didn’t go as planned. Can you talk right now?_

The text was short, but she knew it would do the job. She put her phone in her lap and looked up at the starry sky. Betty tried to pick out a few constellations, but the light pollution from nearby houses and street lamps made the task almost impossible. Regardless, she continued to stare at the stars, wishing she could join them. Her phone buzzed in her lap, pulling her from her slight trance.

_Yeah, I can talk. Where are you?_

She smiled, and typed out a hasty reply.

_The park near Beaker Street. It’s really calming here._

His reply came just as quick as hers.

_Okay. I’ll drive to you._

She was thankful for having such a dependable friend. She allowed herself to be comforted by the fact that Jughead wouldn’t have offered to come if he didn’t want to. Jughead was nothing if he wasn’t honest about his feelings. She didn’t have to guess what he really felt or if he was lying, it was refreshing for Betty. After dealing with Archie’s half truths and guessing games for the better part of a year, it was nice to be able to speak plainly and honestly with someone. Once, she had joked with Jughead about how they acted more like a couple than she and Archie did. They both laughed, but Archie wasn’t nearly as amused by the thought. It caused a rift in his friendship with Jughead, and when she confronted him about it he refused to talk. Betty felt she couldn’t talk to Archie about anything. He was constantly defensive and passive aggressive, usually causing her to give up before she could say anything important. The more she thought about it, the nicer the idea of dating Jughead seemed. He listened to her and took her seriously. He was able to joke with her. They rarely fought, and even when they did they always talked it out and made up. With Archie, she felt powerless. Unfortunately, she was in love with Archie and doubted she felt anything more than platonic love for Jughead. If she did have romantic feelings for Jughead, she probably would never act on them. Betty sighed, and thought over her year of commitment to Archie. Sometimes she wished he had picked Veronica over her. However, she was glad for her friendship with Jughead. If her relationship with Archie did one good thing for her, it was bringing her closer to Jughead. She looked back up to they sky and let the next few moments pass quietly. The summer air sat heavily in her lungs as she waited for Jughead to arrive.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is my first Archie Comics fanfic!! I grew up reading the comics, and I'm so in love with the characters and their stories I just had to write something. Especially since I've recently been getting back into the comics! aha I'm still not sure who I ship Betty with (tbh I don't really ship her with anyone), but I think it's interesting to think about the possible relationships she could have outside of Archie. Also, this is my first fanfic (for anything) in a very long time, so it's not very complex or intricate. I used it mostly as a way to get back into writing haha. I'd love to hear some feedback, and please let me know of any grammar and spelling mistakes, thanks!!


	2. Chapter 2

Betty’s eyes were closed when she heard a car turn into the parking lot. She looked to see Jughead stepping out of his car. As he slowly walked over to the swingset, Betty couldn’t help but to think that the scene looked like it could be the cover of some indie record. The street lamps spotlighted Jughead. Betty raised her hand to wave to him and he did the same. He made his way to her and sat on the swing next to hers. The two of them were quiet for a moment, listening to the choir of crickets chirping, before Jughead finally broke the silence.

“What was the fight about this time?” His voice was almost monotone.

“He doesn’t think he’s cheating on me.” She sounded dejected.

“Oh?” Jughead looked over to her. “He’s not that stupid, Betty. He has to know that he’s not acting like a normal boyfriend.”

“Okay, maybe he does know that he’s cheating, but he doesn’t want to admit it. Any time I bring it up he has a new excuse for why it _isn’t_ cheating.” She looked out to the road. “I think he misses the freedom that came with not committing to anyone.”

“So you brought up Veronica tonight, then? What did he say?”

“He said what he usually says, just this time with more yelling.” She paused, clearly unsure of her next words.

“He said something different, didn’t he?” Jughead knew the look on Betty’s face. It was a look of guilt, and almost fear. “If he said something that crossed the line I can talk to him.”

Jughead knew his friendship with Archie was a breath away from collapsing. As the two grew older, they also grew apart. It was natural at first, an inevitable shift in their relationship. Then, Archie began to change for the worse. He would stiff Jughead constantly and never explain or apologize. He would criticize and pick fights. Jughead wasn’t completely innocent, however. As Archie became more hostile, Jughead responded to him in the same way.

“He said that it didn’t matter whether or not he was two-timing me since I was as well. He said that you and I spend so much time together it might as well be considered cheating.”

Jughead planted his feet on the ground, stopping him from swaying anymore. Part of him wanted to laugh at the absurd accusation, but when he looked over to Betty his slight smile dropped. Before he could speak, she started again.

“I know I’m not cheating on him, but what if he genuinely thinks I am? What if that’s why he’s been with Veronica so much? What if while I thought he was pushing me away, it was _me_ who was pushing _him_ away?” Betty felt herself replacing her residual anger with anxiety and guilt. She had never really considered it was her fault that Archie didn’t want her anymore. The thought terrified her.

“Betty, that’s bullshit and you know it. He’s trying to take the blame off himself and place it on you. If he really thought you were cheating on him with me, he would’ve brought it up much earlier. Besides, you’re not cheating.” He tried his best to reassure Betty.

“Do you remember a few months ago when you, Archie, Reggie, and I were all hanging out and Reggie joked about you acting more like my boyfriend than Archie?”

All four involved remembered that night well. They were at Archie’s house, not doing much but talking and listening to music. The mood in the group of friends had been rather tense recently, but that night they had all seemed to loosen back up. Everything had been going well until Reggie made the joke. At first, Archie had just stopped talking. After about half an hour of his uncomfortable silence, he asked Reggie and Jughead to go home. They were reluctant to leave Betty, but she promised she would be fine. Reggie went home, but Jughead waited outside for her. She finally came out after an hour long argument about their relationship and how she acted towards other people, specifically Jughead. He drove her home in silence.

“Did that night start the ruin of your friendship with Archie?” Betty watched as Jughead adjusted his hat.

“No, it didn’t start it, but it definitely didn’t help our relationship either.”

Betty hummed in agreement. A comfortable silence fell on them again as Jughead lost himself in thought, trying to pinpoint exactly when their friendship began to dissolve. Betty found herself thinking about the boy next to her. Her mind drifted back to the idea of them dating. She couldn’t lie, she had thought about it quite a bit since Reggie made that joke. She wondered if he had thought about it as well, if the image of them together romantically made him uncomfortable or if he liked it. Jughead had always preferred food over girls and he didn’t try to hide that fact. Regardless of his seeming apathy towards anyone looking to date him, Betty knew he sometimes enjoyed the attention, especially if food was involved. Much had changed in Jughead over the years she’d known him but his love of food was ever present. Jughead cleared his throat and she looked over to him. He spoke again.

“You should just break up with Archie. Why won’t you?” He tried not to sound accusatory, not wanting Betty to place any more blame on herself.

“I love him. I know him. We’ve been together for over a year. It’s not easy to just throw that all away. Not to mention I’ve been chasing after him for as long as I can remember. I finally got what I wanted and as pathetic as it may be, it’s hard to admit that something went wrong and my perfect fantasy isn’t really all that perfect.” She let out a sigh, a breath she hadn’t realized she was holding in.

“It’s not healthy. The way he treats you is borderline abusive. I want to see you happy, and I really don’t think you’re happy with him.” He pushed himself off of the swing and stretched his arms over his head before turning to face Betty. “You walked here from Archie’s, right?”

Betty followed his lead and stood up. She held onto the metal chain that suspended the swing. “Yeah, I walked.” She looked on as he glanced at his watch before yawning.

“There’s a diner just outside of town that’s open 24 hours a day. Do you wanna go eat something? My treat.” He said with a smile.

“Sure, Juggie. I’d like that.” She returned his sunny expression with one of her own. “Juggie? Now there’s a nickname I haven’t heard in a while.”

The two of them walked towards Jughead’s slightly shabby car. He opened the passenger side door for her, and she slid in. They chatted about the food they would get once there, Jughead prattling on about how the small diner made the best waffles he’d ever had. Betty believed him, he didn’t joke about food, but she knew she would be just as content with a decent cup of coffee and a nice conversation with him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> wowie I'm adding a few more chapters! because I'm enjoying writing this haha. I still don't think it really fits anywhere in the archie comics universe, but that's okay. I'm fine with it existing in a vacuum. regardless, let me know if either of them seem out of character! (writing characters that aren't my own is rather hard for me aha). also feel free to point out any errors i've made! thank you for reading!! I really hope this is an enjoyable fic.


	3. Chapter 3

The diner was small and outdated, the wallpaper was peeling and the booth Jughead and Betty were sitting in was ripped. It smelled of old coffee, but there was something comforting about the atmosphere it created. Jughead, as usual, had four different full meals sitting in front him, two of which were already mostly gone. Betty had a small mug of coffee and was waiting on a plate of waffles. She ordered them after Jughead convinced her to try a bite of his. She hadn’t doubted his word, but was surprised by just how good they were.

“See Betts, I told you this place was great.”

“Yeah, I really like it.” She smiled as she watched him shove another forkful of eggs into his mouth. “Do you come here often?”

"Whenever Pop’s is closed.” His voice was muffled from the food, causing Betty to laugh at his strange pronunciation. 

Their petite waitress, who had introduced herself as Maria, passed a plate of waffles to Betty. She smiled at Jughead. “Everything’s okay?” She inquired as she began to refill Betty’s nearly empty mug. Jughead nodded and Betty thanked her. “I’m glad. Let me know if I can get you anything else.” 

She left the two of them with a pleasant smile, the scent of her floral perfume mixing with that of Betty’s coffee.

“She’s cute, don’t you think?” Betty leaned forward slightly, hands wrapped around her warm mug.

“Who, the waitress?” His voice was quizzical. 

“Yes, the waitress. Did you see how she smiled at you?”

“I think you’re turning nothing into something. Waitresses smile at customers, that’s part of the job.” Jughead took a bite of his toast. 

“That’s true. Do you think she’s cute, though? I bet you could get her number...” Betty mused.

“The more you pester me, the colder your waffles get.” They both laughed as Betty agreed, picking up her fork and knife.

Just as she began cutting into her food, her phone on the table buzzed to life. She picked it up quickly to check who was calling. Her smile left her face when she read the name. She slid out of the booth and turned to Jughead.

“It’s Archie. I should probably take this. I’ll be right back.” She answered the phone as she made her way to the parking lot. They said their greetings, but then there was a moment of quiet. Finally, Betty heard Archie sigh and he began to speak.

_“We need to talk about what happened.”_ His voice was heavy.

“Yeah, we do.” Was all Betty could manage.

_“Is now a good time? You sound like you’re out.”_ He commented on the background noise of the diner.

"Actually, I am out. Can we talk in the morning?”

_“You can’t spare a minute?”_ Archie began to sound impatient.

“I’m with a friend, I don’t want to keep them waiting. I’ll call you first thing tomorrow. I promise Archie, I’ll call.”

_“Who are you with?” ___

__“I don’t think that’s important. What time do you want me to call?”_ _

___“Who are you with, Betty?”_ Anger started to creep into his voice._ _

__“Jughead.”_ _

__Another bout of silence fell between the two of them. Betty braced herself for the storm that would be Archie’s words. She gripped the phone against her ear so tightly that her knuckles turned white._ _

...

From Jughead’s spot in the booth, he could see Betty just outside of the diner. He could tell from the wild way she was gesticulating that another argument was taking place. He sighed, taking out his wallet. He knew that after another fight, Betty would probably want to just go home. He wasn’t upset with her, just saddened that he had to see his friend suffer so. He watched as she gesticulated wildly with one hand, her phone clasped in the other. He put his wallet on the cluttered table before checking his phone. He glanced at the time before unlocking it. Before he could do anything, Maria walked over to the table. 

“How’s everything?” She smiled sweetly at him.

“It’s fine. I was wondering if I could have some boxes to take it home?” He gestured to the plates before him.

“Of course. I saw your girlfriend had left, but would you like a box for her waffles?” Her face had a slight look of hope on it.

“What? She’s not my girlfriend, but yeah I’ll take a box for that.” He cleared his throat. “Can you bring me the bill?”

Her sunny smile was back on her face “Of course, right away.”

Jughead watched her walk away with a slight bounce in her step and he wondered how anyone could be that peppy this late at night. It was almost midnight. His thoughts were pulled back to Betty and Archie. He remembered Archie telling him his parents had left for a week to visit family or something, so he could only imagine how loud he was being on the phone tonight. No doubt yelling was involved. He looked back to Betty to see her now sitting on the curb of the parking lot, still on the phone. He’d hoped the waitress would be back soon so he could go and sit with her. As he waited for Maria, he watched Betty. He felt sorry for her. He knew she wouldn’t take his advice any time soon regarding Archie, but her wished she would dump him. He treated her so poorly. Jughead just wanted he to be happy. He looked up at the sound of heels clicking to his booth.

“Here are your boxes and your bill!” Maria placed them down on the table. “When you’re ready to pay you can just go up to the front counter.”

“Alright, thanks.” He smiled slightly at her.

“Although, if you for whatever reason wanted to give out your number, you should just give it to me directly instead of the front counter.” A blush dusted her full cheeks.

Jughead shifted awkwardly in his seat. “I’m sorry, I-”

“Oh, never mind. Forget I said anything.” She covered her embarrassed face with her hands and scurried away from the table.

Jughead pulled a couple bills from his wallet and left them on the table. He filled the boxes with the leftovers before getting up to go pay the bill.

...

Betty was now sitting down, listening to Archie shout over the phone about pointless things. She had given up on trying to retort, as he continued to speak over her every time. She was tempted to hang up on him, but knew that would cause even more unnecessary problems.

_“I can’t believe you would go behind my back to be with Jughead after we just talked about why I don’t want you guys hanging out anymore!”_ His voice continued to boom into her ear at an almost deafening level. _“You can’t complain to me about Veronica when you’re doing the same shit to me!”_

He paused and Betty waited for him to continue. After a long moment of nothing, she felt a bit confused and wondered if he had finally hung up.

“Hello?” Her voice cut through the silence. A sigh came from the other end

_“Hello? Hello?! That’s all you have to say right now?! I’m so tired of this!”_

“That makes two of us.”

_“Are you serious, Betty? That’s it, I’m coming to pick you up. Where are you?”_ His voice was strained.

“Are you joking? I don’t need you to come get me.” Her tone was incredulous.

_“Joking? I’m not joking. Where are you?”_ He sounded more aggressive and Betty began to feel disquieted.

“Archie, you’re not coming to get me.” Her word were followed by another moment of silence.

_“Fine. You want to pick Jughead over me? Go right ahead. Don’t bother calling me tomorrow.”_

There was a click and then the line went dead. Betty could only sigh in defeat as she lowered the phone from her ear. She heard the diner door open. After a few moments, she felt a hand land on her shoulder and looked over to see Jughead by her side. He slowly lowered to the ground next to her. She watched him lean forward and place the boxes of food down before sitting straight up. Without speaking, she put her head on his shoulder. He mirrored her movements and rested his own head on top of hers. It was a small gesture, but it was filled with warmth, understanding, and comfort and Betty was grateful for it. She closed her eyes, just enjoying the feeling of being close with someone who cared. They sat like that for a while, neither of them feeling the need to break the comfortable silence. Jughead’s phone buzzed, bringing them out of their trance. He glanced at the food before him and spoke with his head still to Betty’s.

“I’m sorry tonight was so awful. Do you want to go finish eating at my house?” His voice was gentle.

“I, um.” Betty wanted to say yes, but was unsure. “I’m kind of tired. I think I just want to go home.”

“That’s fine. Do you want to go now?”

“Yeah, let’s go now.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> aha sorry this chapter took such a long time to post!! i've been really busy lately and just couldn't find the time to write it. i'm not convinced the point of view changes between betty and jughead made much sense, so please do let me know if it worked or not! as usual, please let me know of any errors i've made (grammar, spelling, anything!). i think you can expect one or two more chapters and then i think it'll be done! also, bonus points to anyone who can find the reference i made to a musical! lol
> 
> (pssst shameless self promo: go check out my tumblr maybe!! my url over there is glittery-puke)


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